Chapter Text
It started beneath a cherry blossom tree, early into spring. Just as the soft pink flowers began to bloom. Two young boys played beneath the Sakura tree. It had been less than an hour since the two arrived in the garden, yet both were already covered in dirt.
“Gary— Gary look! What Pokémon is that?” The smaller of the two shouted in glee, practically vibrating from where he jumped up and down. A pointed finger was extended in the direction of the beautiful Pokémon that fluttered through the air.
“I don’t know Ash, but it sure seems pretty!” The taller boy’s eyes were wide as he watched the Pokémon. The Pokémon in question stopped in the shade of the tree, happily chittering at the two children staring at it. It’s white wings made a soft breeze that shook some cherry blossoms off their branches. Cascades of pink and white flittered to the ground, surrounding the two young boys.
The younger of the two darted forward in awe, a wide grin on his face as he approached the wild Pokémon. “Hi! My name’s Ash! And this is my best friend Gary! What’s your name? You’re so pretty! And those wings of yours are so cool!” As usual, the dark-haired-boy fired ten questions a millisecond to which his brown-haired-friend sighed fondly before pulling him back.
“Ashy-boy, you’re gonna scare it!” The older of the two scolded his friend before turning his attention back to wild Pokémon. “I’m sorry about him, he’s stupid.” The Pokémon in turn let out what seemed to be a giggle, causing a small smirk to run across Gary’s face.
“Excuse you!” Ash scoffed, stomping his foot and elbowing the taller boy. “I’m not stupid! You are! I’m just trying to make friends with the Pokémon!” Ash tried to make friends with every Pokémon he comes across. In many situations, it resulted in the poor Pokémon releasing an attack out of fright, and both boys needing to run back to the Ketchum residence or the Oak Laboratory.
“Well a lousy job you’re doing at making friends!” Gary stuck his tongue out, a teasing edge to his voice. Provocative. In a manner that the brunette has always had when it came to making fun of his best friend. Then again, Gary tended to love riling up anyone he has the pleasure of speaking to.
“I’m great at making friends! I got you! Don’t I?” The shorter boy puffed his chest, as if to make himself somewhat intimidating despite his short stature. It was a method Ash had developed early on to cover for his lacking height.
“Yeah, you found me I guess. You got any other friends, Ashy-boy?” The older poked at his best friend’s chest, easily taller and easily still standing over the other boy.
“Do you ?” Ash rose to the bait, poking the taller’s chest back. Before Gary could respond with his own remark, a light laughter rang through the air. Loud enough to catch both boy’s attention yet just as gentle as the breeze that accompanied it.
The two children turned back to the Sakura tree, in time to see the Pokémon shaking with laughter. It’s bright white wings shook with each release causing more cherry blossoms to be released from the trees branches and carried with the wind. Ash and Gary both paused before joining in with their own contagious sounds. The Pokémon and the two boys laughed beneath the trees branches, staying there until the Sun began to set below the horizon.
Just as the sky was painted with streaks of pinks and oranges, Daisy Oak came darting out of the Oak residence. The teen lectured both children for being covered in dirt as she hauled both of them back home. As the boys walked back they recounted the wild tales of their day, bickering as they did so. Professor Samuel Oak opened the door and merely laughed at the state of the two young boys, clothes wrinkled and smeared with dried dirt along with hair tangled in
a couple twigs and cherry blossom petals. The older man hurried them off to take showers, remarking off handedly that the Pokémon they saw must’ve been a Butterfree.
Delia Ketchum arrived to the Oak residence to help prepare dinner, raising an eyebrow at her son’s damp hair and slightly top big clothes that he had definitely not been wearing before she let him and Gary run off. Ash simply grinned sheepishly and recounted his day as his mother moved into the kitchen, Gary chipping in when he felt like it. Daisy and Professor Oak warmly greeted Mrs. Ketchum as they continued preparing dinner. The two youngest fumbled around the dining room as they clumsily set the table (Daisy later teased them for their wonky cutlery placement).
Less than an hour later, dinner was served and everyone sat around the table. The air was warm with laughter and love, and it was impossible not to bask in the moment. Of course, times like those were not made to last. Things were too good— too stagnant.
Neither Ash nor Gary had any other friends. Despite their close friendship, things were bound to change eventually. After all, their reasons were impossibly different. One struggled to make friends, the other had people begging at his feet to come hang out with them.
It’s not a hidden fact that Ash Ketchum did not get along with many people from school. He was simply, “too hyper,” or, “too loud,” for many. And that made it difficult for him to make friends with anyone except for Gary. Though, Gary didn’t exactly count because the two were forced to meet because of their parent’s shared history. Even if it was Gary’s choice to stick around afterwards.
“Admit it, Gare! You love me!” A short dark-haired boy sing-songed as he danced around his friend.
“As if Ashy-boy! We all know no one loves you except Auntie Delia!” Gary Oak stuck his tongue out and huffed. Before turning around, Ash saw the slight smile that formed on the other boy’s face.
The younger of the two gasped in delight before near-screaming, “You’re smiling Gary! Admit it!”
“I admit nothing!” The young Oak denied, slight blush painting his pale cheeks.
It’d never been easy for Gary to choose who he could trust and who he couldn’t. After all, who wouldn’t want to be friends with the grandson of the esteemed Professor Oak? Gary was likable enough, but any distinct qualities he might have had were effortlessly drowned out by everyone’s love for his grandfather. Other kids had made it obnoxiously obvious.
If the kids didn’t want to be friends with him because of his grandfather, then it was out of pity. The only child in Pallet Town with no father nor mother. Pallet was small, small enough that everyone knew of his parents’ untimely deaths. And Gary was sick of it. Sick of random adults who never cared about him or his family before, coming up to him and saying they were sorry. Or kids who he’d never spoken to in his life declaring their condolences clearly forced to by their parents.
Ash was… different.
Gary could never quite place the exact day or moment he met Ash Ketchum. The boy was just always there. Always with him in some way or the other. Ash liked to joke that “he found Gary,” which might not have been too far off. With how talkative the younger boy is, Gary doesn’t doubt that Ash would’ve been the first out of the two of them to make introductions. However, Gary had a slight feeling that they really just found each other.
Though one moment that the brown-haired-boy would never forget was the day his parents died. Daisy and him had been staying over at their Grandfathers home for the night, and it had been nearing three AM when Officer Jenny knocked on their door.
”Hello Officer Jenny,” Professor Oak greeted, as warmly as the older man could after being awoken at an unreasonable time in the morning. His granddaughter Daisy peaked her head out from where she was hiding behind him, and his grandson Gary tucked his head into his older sister’s side as he hid behind the older’s nightdress.
“Hello Professor,” The officer looked nervous as she glanced down to the small children behind the the Professor. “I have some… sensitive news for you about your son and daughter in law.”
The esteemed Professor bit his lip in worry before ushering his grandchildren back to their rooms.
“Daisy ? What’s happening?” A small Gary Oak asked, looking to the older girl for answers that she did not have.
“I don’t know.”
From outside the two siblings’ rooms, both could hear the moment their Grandfather collapsed to the floor, shaking with sobs.
The next morning Ash had shown up at the Oak’s front door, no Delia Ketchum in sight. Professor Oak had tried to usher the young boy away, fake reassurances graced his mouth in opposition to the man’s near-bloodshot eyes.
Ash himself shoved a bouquet of chrysanthemums and carnations into the older man’s hands followed by soft remarks of, “My mama told me that you would appreciate these flowers. And I’m… I’m sorry. And— and… I’m gonna miss Mr. and Mrs. Oak a lot. And Gary must be feeling so so sad right now. And you too! And Daisy. And—“
Before Professor Oak could stop the small child from hyperventilating, Ash dissolved into tears, pushing past the older man and running through the Oak household to Gary’s room.
Gary looked up as his bedroom door was slammed open, wiping his tears so no one else would see him cry. At least, until he saw a certain Ash Ketchum, choking on his sobs before the small black-haired-boy darted forward and wrapped his best friend up in the tightest hug possible.
In a split second, the brown-haired-boy let all his walls collapse as he slumped into his best friend’s arms. And the two children sobbed together.
Despite everything— all their shared history, inside jokes, and pure love between them —things had quickly changed, and not for the better. Even though neither of the two boys had other friends, their reasons were impossibly different.
And no matter how much Ash told himself that he would always have Gary and they’d always be best friends, he knew that things would change.
“Why do you hang around that buttercup?” One of their classmates sneered, pointing a finger at Ash as he looked expectantly at Gary. Ash simply rolled his eyes. Dylan— the classmate in question —and him frequently butt heads and it wasn’t uncommon for them to get into some backyard brawls.
“We’ve known each other for forever.” Gary shrugged, slipping his backpack onto his shoulders and made a move to leave. He’d been thinking about what it’d be like to be friends with people other than Ash and he hadn’t thought it through as much as he’d liked. He especially didn’t want to be having this conversation in front of expectant kids and his best friend.
“Yeah, well you don’t have to know each for forever.” Another classmate joined in from where she was eavesdropping. Gabriella, a pretty and smart girl from their class that tended to hear everything and always wanted a scoop of the drama. “You could just— I don’t know. Forget him?”
Ash clenched his hands and Gary silently prayed that the younger would keep his cool until they could talk everything out. “It’s not exactly that easy, Gabriella.” Gary tried for a small smile as he turned toward the other classroom exit before being cut off.
“I mean, honestly Gary, that kid is just so immature and borderline stupid . He never sits still in class, and we all know that Ms. Fern hates him. And she’s notorious for being the best teacher in our school!” A final kid cut Gary off. Richard was known for being the tallest and strongest kid in their grade making him not someone to mess with.
Ash fumed from where he stood, practically quivering with anger. But he held back. He knew Gary wouldn’t want him to fight so… so he’d take the blows for now.
“I mean, what is Buttercup over there even gonna do with his life? He’s as dumb as a doorknob and has no real goal.” Gabriella scoffed, looking over their short classmate who was about to explode.
“I’M GOING TO BE A POKÉMON MASTER.”
And there it was.
Gary shut his eyes, wincing as the other kids burst with laughter and Ash choked on a sob.
“That’s not a real goal!” Dylan held his stomach as he struggled to contain his giggles. The two other kids were practically choking on their laughter. Laughing in the face of someone who they didn’t know and would never care to learn. All they knew was his goal— to be a Pokémon Master. Everyone had heard it. It was impossible not to when that was all Ash could talk about most days.
Thing was, no one knew what a Pokémon Master was. It wasn’t a career or a title, as far as everyone was concerned it was just something Ash simply made up. Gary had a feeling not even Ash knew what being a Pokémon Master entailed.
“Listen Gary, do you really want to be friends with Pokémon Master over there for the rest of your life?” Richard reasoned. “I personally think he’s just holding you back from your true potential. You’re smart and hard working. You can make it far. Without him.”
The brown-haired-boy opened his mouth to respond, but anything he ever wanted to say died on his tongue. After all, his classmates were saying exactly what he’d been wondering. Was Ash really holding him back?
“I mean, what would your parents think?” Dylan questioned, crossing his arms. That was the lowest of low blows, yet also the final nail in the coffin. Gary’s parents had loved Ash. Maybe even more than Gary himself did at times. They’d always thought he was good to and for Gary. Yet… they never knew just how obtuse Ash could be. He wasn’t dumb— Gary had never thought that, yet he was never the smartest or quietest. Ash could easily fire off ten pointless questions a second while coming up with ten more.
“Come on Gare, let’s just go.” Ash begged, quiet in ways he’d never been. But Gary stood frozen, unable to think of anything to do other than wallow in his own self-pitying mind.
“What would your Grandpa think?” Gabriella stepped in front of the shorter boy, a small smirk on her face. “You’re hanging out with such trash all the time when you could be hanging out with better people. People that are worth his and your attention.”
All Gary ever wanted was his Gramps’ approval. The man was well respected everywhere he went, and being his only Grandson meant a lot to Gary. He wanted to make his Gramps proud, and he had no idea where to start.
“Gary please, let’s just leave.” Ash made a move toward his friend, only to be cut off by Richard.
“You need to make a choice Gary. It’s us, or him .” The tall boy towered over everyone, his arm’s crossed and a judgmental look on his face.
Gramps was always happy to have Ash around but… was that just because Gary seemed incapable of making any other friends? Gary could easily go with his classmates, making three instant friends and gain connections to people he’d never be able to talk to otherwise. Or, he could go with Ash who… who he’d been with his whole life and could potentially be stuck with his whole life. Someone who seemed to be going nowhere, and nowhere approached closer every day.
“Ash…” Gary turned to someone he’d considered his best friend. The dark-haired-boy looked up to meet his eyes, and Gary saw that Ash already knew . “Go home.”
And just like that, it was over.
Years of friendship, years of laughter and support, everything they’d been through together. Gone. A brief look of hurt flashed across Ash’s face before a bitter laugh exited the shorter boy’s mouth. “Of course. What did I expect?”
“You heard Gary, get lost Buttercup!” Gabriella barked, a wide grin of victory spread across her face as she ushered the amber-eyed-boy toward the classroom door.
“You know what, Gary?” Ash marched up to his best friend— former best friend. Gary refused to meet the shorter boy’s eyes. “I hope you’re happy.” Ash shoved the taller boy back, shaking his head as made his way out the door.
“You made the right choice.” Dylan smiled at the brown-haired-boy. But Gary’s eyes focused on the window, just as Ash left the school premises passing a field of white lilacs that were quickly losing their petals.
It didn’t end there, however. Because things are never that easy. Despite the two boys going their separate ways, their guardians had other plans.
“Of course Gramps would force us to go fishing together!” Gary huffed as he dragged his fishing equipment through the woods. Ash trailed along, not to far behind. “I mean, the old man never seems to take a hint.”
“You really shouldn’t talk about the Professor like that.” Ash rolled his eyes, in his hands held his own similar equipment. The two of them used to go fishing all the time when they were younger, albeit typically with either Daisy or Professor Oak watching over them. Now that they were weeks away from becoming real Pokémon trainers and going on their journeys, the Professor thought it was time for the boys to have some independence.
“I can talk about Gramps however I want.” Gary huffed. “Especially when I have to spend the afternoon with you.”
Ash near-growled after hearing the taller boy’s words. “I’m the problem!? I’m the one forced to spend this Sunday afternoon with you.”
“Yeah? Well I was planning on going to the movies with my friends! What were you planning on doing?” Gary sneered, tossing a dirty look behind him at his former best friend. Gary was really planning on locking himself in his room and studying all he could to prepare himself to be a Pokémon trainer. Maybe, if he worked hard enough he could even win the league.
“I was planning on exploring the forest some more with my friends!” Ash glared ahead, refusing to look at his former friend. Ash pointedly did not mention that said friends were the local forest Pokémon who he’d befriended instead of actual human friends.
“You have friends?” Gary cackled, raising a disbelieving eyebrow at the dark-haired-boy. “That’s a shocker! Coming from you,”
“What’d you say!?” Ash ran forward, carrying all his fishing equipment in one arm and raising his other one up, his hand curled into a fist.
“Now now Ashy-boy.” Gary sent a sly smirk at the shorter preteen. “We can’t be getting into fistfights now. It’s very immature and unbecoming of someone who’s about to receive his trainer’s license.”
Ash slowly lowered his fist, grumbling to himself the whole rest of the way to their fishing spot along the river.
“Okay Ashy-boy,” Gary pointed to the opposite side of the river. “You should go fish there, so you know— you don’t get in my way.”
Ash rolled his eyes at the audacity and walked across the bridge to the other side. “No problem, you won’t get in my way when I fish here anyway. I can also block out your annoying voice!”
“My annoying voice? Your voice is far more annoying—“
And the bickering continued, even as both preteens fished and fished and before they both knew it the sun was nearly setting and neither of them had caught a single thing. Until they both felt a tug on their fishing line.
“I think I got something!” Ash cheered.
“Me too!” Gary grunted, attempting to reel the catch in.
The both of them locked eyes and realized that whatever was at the end of their lines, was the same thing. Instantly, both boys were tugging at their fishing rods harder and faster, each racing for who could get the catch. The last person to win their little feud before going out on the road as trainers.
The item that was stuck on both of their lines was hoisted out of the water, revealing an old rusty Pokéball. Their knew knowledge only motivated the two boys further, newfound urgency to be the one who got to keep the Pokéball. After all, neither of them had the pleasure to own their very own Pokéball yet.
“It’s mine, Gary!” Ash near-screamed.
“No! This Pokéball belongs to me!” Gary growled.
In an instant the Pokéball was ripped in half and both boys were sent flying back with the force of their own tugs. The bottom white half of the Pokéball landed in front of Ash and the top red half landed in front of Gary.
“So… it’s a tie?” Ash offered, examining his half of the Pokéball with wonder.
Gary scuffed, picking up his own half of the small object. “Tying with you is the equivalent of losing .” The brown-haired-boy pocketed the item before packing away his fishing gear and walking back into the forest. Along the side of the trail a small patch of tansy’s were growing.
Ash remained sat on the ground, still flabbergasted before returning to his senses and chasing after his ex-friend with a shout of, “Hey! Wait up!”
That was the last time the two had spoken to each other before the day they would get their trainers license and their very first Pokémon. It was also the last act of Delia and Professor Oak’s attempts at rekindling the two boy’s friendship.
“Gary, wake up! It’s your special d—“ Professor Oak knocked on his Grandson’s bedroom door before it was wildly flung open. A ten-year-old Gary Oak stood proud before him, a small smirk on his face and packed bag in hand.
“I know Grandpa.” Gary’s joy was clear, something that Samuel had not seen in a long time from his Grandson. “I’m ready! Today’s a day I’ll never forget, and I’d never miss it for the world!”
“Oh, look at you!” Daisy gushed from her Grandfather’s side as she looked over her little brother before rushing forward and wrapping him in a tight hug. “My kid brother’s all grown up! Starting his very own Pokémon journey! I’m so excited for you!”
A light blush spread across the younger’s cheeks before the brown-haired-boy shoved his sister off him. “Daisy! Stop with that, you’re so embarrassing!”
“We’re both very happy for you, my boy.” Samuel simply smiled, placing a hand on both of his grandchildren’s shoulders. The young boy nearly preened from the praises.
On the other side of Pallet Town, a certain Ash Ketchum was very much still sleeping and not awake. At least, for a couple more minutes until the newly ten-year-old shot up and darted out of bed. Sprinting down the streets of Pallet Town, Ash made a run for Oak Laboratory just in time to see Gary leaving. Or, well— crash into Gary as he’s leaving.
“Gary?” Ash looked up in time to make eye contact with the taller boy.
“If it isn’t Ashy-boy.” Gary crossed his arms, looking over his former friend. His newfound rival. “Well, you snooze you lose. You’re already behind from the start, because I have a Pokémon and you don’t.”
“You— you’ve got your first Pokémon?” Ash’s eyes shined with wonder. Enough so that Gary pulled out his Pokéball and near waved it in the shorter’s face.
“That’s right.” The brown-haired-boy smirked before brushing past his rival and waving to the crowd of people that arrived to say their goodbyes. “Well, I’m off to start my Pokémon journey. Thank you everyone for this honor! I promise to become the best trainer and make the town of Pallet known throughout the world!”
And with the revving of an engine from the car that Gary’s grandfather had bought for him along with the chauffeur to drive him, the brown-haired-boy was gone. Off to start his own journey.
“I’ll show him!” Ash clenched his fists, watching as his former friend drove off in the distance. Small cherry-blossoms floated through the air from the Sakura tree in front of the Oak Laboratory marking the end of both the boys’ youths.